Former Minnesota state trooper and state Department of Human Services investigator Jay Swanson testified that state officials pressured him to suppress findings of widespread fraud in the state’s child care assistance program. Swanson told the Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy Committee on Tuesday that Somali refugees were exploiting the program, and that Minnesota had become known internationally as the easiest state to commit such fraud.
Swanson revealed that he was ordered by supervisors to delete evidence of fraud and was later harassed when he refused, stating such actions were illegal. The fraud, which dates back to at least 2009, involved day care centers billing for services not provided, with federal prosecutors estimating losses of $9 billion to taxpayers. Despite these findings, Swanson’s investigative unit was dismantled under Governor Tim Walz (D).
